Drier.



P. JACKSON.

DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED APBJ, 1911.

1 ,OOO,267, Patented Aug. 8, 1 911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES: I

ATTORNEYS P. JACKSON.

DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED APBH'T. 1911.

Patented Aug. 8, 1911.

lllll WITNESSES:

P. JACKSON.

DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED APR-7. 1911.

v Patented Aug. 8, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

v WITNESSES.

ATTORNEYS P. JACKSON.

DRIER.

APPLICATION IILED 11.77, 1911.

1,000,267, Patented Aug. 8, 1911.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

ATTORNEYS clination of about 45,

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFioE.

PERCY JACKSON, OF IVFACON, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR TO J. S. SGHOFIELDS SONS00., OF MACON, GEORGIA, A CQRPORATION.

DRIER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Aug. 8, 1911.

To all whom itmc z concern:

Be it known that I, PERCY JACKSON, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Macon, in the county of Bibb and State of -Georgia, haveinvented a new and Improved Drier, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

The invention is an improvement in driers, relating primarily to driersembodying a rotary tubular conveyer, and has in view such an appliancein which the hot gases froma furnace are discharged through the conveyerin a direction oppositeto the travel of the materials to be dried, thefurnace and conveyer being arranged end to end, with the discharge endof the conveyer constructed to shower the said materials through thehotgases and flame of the furnace.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specifi cation, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a plan of a. drier constructed in accordance with myinvention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig.' 3 is a centralvertical sectionof the furnace and discharge end of the tubularconveyer; Fig. 4 is a similar section through the feed end of theconveyer and adjacent smoke box; Fig.

5 is a cross-section through the tubular conveyer on the line 5 5 ofFig. 3; Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 3; andFig. 7 is a,section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 3.

In the construction of my improved drier I employ a relatively longtubular conveyer 10,, having at the inner side thereof a series ofspiral feed blades 11, the feed blades at the feed end of the conveyerhaving an inand gradually straightening toward the discharge end of theconveyer, at which point they are about 15 to the longitudinal axis. Atsuitable points in the length of the conveyer, ordinarily about onequarter its length from each end, the conveyor is revolubly supported onroller bearings 12, these bearings at ea ch point of support, as bestshown in Fig. 5, embodying a pair of rollers spaced apart and arrangedon a carrier block 13 at each side of the conveyer, with the carrierblocks adjustable to and from each other by suitable means, such as thescrews 14, which adapts the conveyer to be brought into properalinement. Ateach point of support the shell of the conveyer is providedwith an externalbearing ring 15, which seats on the rollers. The poweris shown to be applied to the conveyer by suitable gearing in drivingengagement with a gear 10 surrounding a conveyer shell, the specificdriving mechanism and the supports revolubly carrying the conve-yernotforming a feature of my invention, but are illustrated for the purposeof making the operation clear.

The feed end of the conveyer projects into a smoke box 16, suitablysupported and having a hopper 17 at the top discharging into theconveyer. The opposite and discharge end of the conveyer is of flaringor tapering form, as indicated at 18, with the tapered portion providedwith showering blades 19, which. like the blades 11, are alternately Land Z-shaped, the blades 11 and 19 being shown arranged end to end.

A gas or oil furnace is suitably supported at the dischargeend of thetubular conveyer, and comprises an inner combustion chamber 20 in axialalinement with the com ve ver, the combustion chamber having an outersteel jacket 21, which is lined with fire-briclc or fire-clay. A similarjacket 22 surrounds the body of the jacket 21 at the outer portion ofthe furnace andforms in connection therewith an annular air heatingspace 23, having the air inlet openings 24. the air heating chambercommunicating with they combustion chamber through an inlet opening 25,extending upwardly from thebottom adjacent to the outer end wall. At-thefront of this opening a fire-back 26 is extended upwardly a substantialdistance above the bottom of the furnace. The relative arrangement ofthe air intake openings and the inlet opening 25 is such that the airbefore gaining admission to 'the combustion chamber is enforced totravel around the chamber 23, where .it is substantially heated. At thefront oft-the packet 22 the furnace is provided with an enlarged shell27, which, like the combustion chamber, is

made up-of an outer case or jacket lined with fire-brick or fire-clay,the shell being extended beyond the open end of the combus tion chamberto receive the flaring discharge end of the tubular conveyer, the latterterminating relatively close to the combustion chamber, as clearly shownin Fig 3. An airtight joint is formed at each end of the tubularconveyer respectively between the smoke box 16 and the shell 27, bysecuring circumferentially around each of these points of the co veyer,flanges 28 spaced apart to provide till intermediate groove, the latterreceiving a flange 29 slidably fitting andc'h'eld against rotationwithin the adjacent stationary shell, which, at the feed end of theconveyer is'the smoke box, and the discharge end the shell 27. Theflanges 28 and are ordinarily in the nature of angle-irons, which givethem a substantial bearing surface on the parts on which they arecarried. By thus constructing the joints at the ends of the tubularconveyer, the binding of the latter on the flanges 29 is preveuted,t11eflanges moving slightly back and forth as the conveyer revolves. At thedischarge end of the combustion chamber, which is at the mouth of theconveyer, a portion of the bottom wall is removed to provide a dischargeopening 30 for the material dried, a pocket 31 being formed in the shell27 below this opening, which shoots the dried material to one side ofthe drier (see Fig. 7), from which point it is suitably carried, as by aconveyer, to the point desired. In the outer end wall of the furnace,oil or gas burners 32 project into the combustion chamber above the tireback 26; and a smoke pipe 33 leads from the smoke box 16 and connectswith a suitable stack.

In the oper; tion of the drier, the material to be dried is fed into thehopper 17, and is transported through the tubular conveyer as the latterrevolves, by the spiral feed blades. lVhen the flaring discharge end ofthe conveyer is reached, the material is picked up by the blades 19 andis showered through the hot gases and flame passing out of thecombustion chamber, and falls through the opening 30 into the dischargepocket 31. During the operation of the conveyer, the hot gases from thefurnace are drawn therethrough by the stack from the smoke pipe 33, andeffect the drying of the material, the heated gases traveling in onedirection while the material travels in the opposite direction. Thus,the material is treated with the driest and hottest gases at the instantof discharge, and is subjected as charged by being transversely to thedirection in which the gases flow.

2. In a drier, a furnace having an approximately horizontally-disposedcombustion chamber provided with an opening in the bottom thereofadjacent to its discharge end,

and a rotatable tubular conveyer through which the gases of the furnaceare discharged, having its discharge end of enlarged construction andprovided with blades whereby the materials to be dried are dispassedtransversely through the direction of flow of the hot gases into theopening in the bottom of the said combustion chamber.

3. In a drier, an approximately horizontally-disposed combustion chamberopen at its inner end and having an air inlet adjacent to the outer endthereof, an air heating chamber surrounding the outer portion of thecombustion chamber and communicating with the air inlet, said airheating chamber having air intake openings removed from the said airinlet, an enlarged shell surrounding the forward portion of thecombustion chamber, a tubular conveyer discharging at the open end ofthe combustion chamber and projecting into and having an approximatelyair-tight. joint with thesaid' shell. and a smoke box from which theconveyer leads. having a smoke pipe.

4. In a drier, a furnace having a combustion chamber approximatelyhorizontally disposed, with the inner end of the combustion chamber openand the outer end provided with an air inlet opening adjacent to theinner wall, burners projecting through the outer wall of the furnaceinto the combustion chamber, an air heating chamber surrounding thecombustion chamber, the heating chamber communicating with the airinlet, the heating chamber also having air intake openings remote fromthe said air inlet of the combustion chamber, and a revoluble tubularconveyer through which the heated gases from the combustion chamberpass, discharging at the open end of the combustion chamber.

5. In a drier, a furnace having an approximately horizontally-disposed.combustion chamber open at the inner end and provided with a pocketarranged therebelow, and a revoluble tubular conveyer for the materialto be dried, having its discharge end of enlarged and tapering formationand provided with blades, whereby the said material is discharged intothe said pocket from an elevation, thereby passing it through the hotgases in a path transverse thereto. 7

6. In a drier, an approximately horizontally-disposed combustion chamberopen at the inner end and provided with an air intake opening atthebottom adjacent to the outer wall thereof, a fire-back extendingupwardly within the combustion chamber at the front of the said opening,a heating chamber surrounding the combustion chamber" and communicatingwith the said air intake opening, the wall of the heating chamber beingprovided with eangair inlet remote from-the said air intake, a furnacedischarging into the combustion chamber over the said opening and abovethe fire-back, a shell arranged about the open end of the combustionchamber, a smoke box having a smoke pipe,"and a rotary tubular conveyorextending from the smoke box to the open end of the combustion chamber,with the discharge end of the conveyer having an approximately\air-tight joint with the shell and arranged to shower the material atthe front of the said chamber.

7. In a drier, a furnace having a combustion chalmber open at the front,a shell surrounding the forward portion of the combustion chamber, arotary tubular conveyer through which the heated gases from thefurnacepass and discharging at the front of the combustion chamber; and a jointbetween-the discharge end of the conveyer and the shell, havinginterfitting portions, one of which is slidable relatively to the shell.

8. In a drier, a furnace having a coinbusthrough which the heated gasesfrom the furnace pass and discharging at the front ofthe combustionchamber, flanges spaced apart and externally carried on the dischargeend of the conveyer, and a flange slidably fitting within-the shell andpassing between the flanges of the conveyer and forming in connectiontherewith an approximately air-tight joint between the conveyor and theshell.

9. In a drier, a smoke box, a furnace having a combustion chamber andprovided with a shell surrounding the forward portion of the saidchamber, a rotary tubular conveyer extending from the smoke box anddischarging at the front of the coinbustion chamber, the conveyer havingflanges externally arranged and spaced apart at both its discharge andreceiving ends, and flanges respectively slidablv retained in the smokebox andithe shell and extending between and forming in-connection withthe flanges of the conveyer, approximately airtight jointstherewith.

In testimony whereof I have. signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

PERCY JACKSON.

Witnesses:

1 W. LAMAR WILLIAMS, J r.,

L. R. JACKSON.

